The social logic of politics : personal networks as contexts for political behavior

Using classic theories to explain individuals' political decisions, this volume examines what influences these decisions. Supported by the research of the Columbia school of electoral sociology, this view is contrasted with rational choice theory and the Michigan school of electoral analysis. Written by a range of political scientists, this volume advances theory and method in the study of political behavior and returns the social logic of politics to the heart of political science. 1592131476......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 List of Tables and Figures......Page 10 About the Contributors......Page 22 Preface and Acknowledgments......Page 16 INTRODUCTION: THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL CONTEXT......Page 24 1 Returning to the Social Logic of Politics......Page 26 2 Individuals, Dyads, and Networks:Autoregressive Patterns of Political Influence......Page 44 I. FAMILIES AS SOURCES OF STRONG POLITICAL TIES......Page 72 3 Political Similarity and Influence between Husbands and Wives......Page 74 4 Do Couples Support the Same Political Parties? Sometimes: Evidence from British and German Household Panel Surveys......Page 98 5 Family Ties: Understanding the Intergenerational Transmission of Political Participation......Page 118 II. FRIENDS, WORKMATES, NEIGHBORS, AND POLITICALCONTEXTS: THE EFFECTS OF WEAK TIES ON ELECTORAL CHOICESAND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION......Page 138 6 Changing Class Locations and Partisanship in Germany......Page 140 7 Choosing Alone? The Social Network Basis of Modern Political Choice......Page 155 8 Friends and Politics: Linking Diverse Friendship Networks to Political Participation......Page 175 9 Networks, Gender, and the Use of State Authority: Evidence from a Study of Arab Immigrants in Detroit......Page 194 10 Putting Voters in their Places: Local Context and Voting in England and Wales, 1997......Page 207 11 Party Identification, Local Partisan Contexts, and the Acquisition of Participatory Attitudes......Page 232 12 Macro-Politics and Micro-Behavior: Mainstream Politics and the Frequency of Political Discussion inContemporary Democracies......Page 251 III. THE SOCIAL LOGIC OF POLITICS: LOOKING AHEAD......Page 272 13 Agent-Based Explanations for the Survival of Disagreement in Social Networks......Page 274 14 Turnout in a Small World......Page 292 Notes......Page 312 References......Page 330 Index......Page 354 Annotation Using classic theories and methodologies, this collection maintains that individuals make political choices by taking into account the views, preferences, evaluations, and actions of other people who comprise their social networks. These include family members, friends, neighbors, and workmates, among others. The volume re-establishes the research of the Columbia School of Electoral Sociology from several decades ago, and contrasts it with rational choice theory and the Michigan School of Electoral Analysis. Written by political scientists with a range of interests, this volume returns the social logic of politics to the heart of political science Re-establishes the connection between social life and political behavior